All Musical References in the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Anime (Part 1)

If you’ve been watching JoJo's Bizarre Adventure for some time you have probably noticed that it’s chock-full of musical references. Some obvious while others, not that much. Well, it’s no secret that Araki loves naming his characters after his favorite musicians and songs. In this post, I’ll go over all of the references hidden throughout the anime adaptation of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

Part 1: Phantom Blood

• Let’s start with this part’s main villain, Dio. Dio’s name is based on the heavy metal singer, Ronnie James (Dio), who is also the founder of the band “Dio”.
• This part’s JoBro, Robert E. O. Speedwagon’s name comes from the American rock band REO Speedwagon.
• Will Anthonio Zeppeli’s surname comes from the English rock band Led Zeppelin.
• Tonpetty’s name is inspired by the American musician Tom Petty.
• The two characters Dire and Straizo are named after the rock band Dire Straits.
• Poco is named after the country-rock band, Poco.
• Wang Chan’s name comes from the eighties pop group, Wang Chung.
• Tarkus is named after Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s album, Tarkus.
• Bruford is named after the musician Bill Bruford.
• Doobie’s name comes from the American rock band, The Doobie Brothers.
• Page, Jones, Plant, and Bonham are named after the four members of the band, Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Robert Plant, and Jon Bonham.
• Jeff Back and Dan Hamar are named after musician Jeff Beck and collaborator Jan Hammer.
• Father Styx is named after the American rock band, Styx.

Part 2: Battle Tendency

• Ceasar’s mentor Lisa Lisa is named after Lisa Velez whose stage name was Lisa Lisa.
• Loggins and Messina are named after the musicians Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina.
• Suzi Q is named after Dale Hawkins’s song “Susie Q”.
• Wired Beck’s name comes from Jeff Beck and his album “Wired”.
• All four Pillar Men are named after the following bands: Santana, Wham!, AC/DC and The Cars.
• Smokey Brown is named after two musicians, Smokey Robinson and James Brown.
• Donovan is named the musician Donovan.
• The Red Stone of Aja is a reference to the Steely Dan album with the same name.
• The island Air Supplena is named after the band Air Supply.

Part 3: Stardust Crusaders

• Muhammad Avdol is named after the singer Paula Abdul. The chickens he looks after on the secluded island are Prince, Michael, and Lionel named after the musicians, Prince, Michael Jackson, and Lionel Richie.
• Gray Fly’s name comes from the musician Glenn Frey.
• Jean Pierre Polnareff is named after the French musician, Michel Polnareff, while his sister is named after one of Michael’s songs "Tout, Tout Pour Ma Chérie".
• Captain Tennille’s name comes from the 1970’s musical duo Captain & Tennille.
• Forever is named after an album by the Wu-Tang Clan, Wu-Tang Forever.
• Devo is named after the American band of the same name(Devo).
• Rubber Soul is named after a Beatles that has the same name.
• Hol Horse’s name comes from the American music duo Hall and Oates.
• J.Geil is named after the band The J Geils Band.
• Nena’s name is based on the New Wave German singer Nena.
• ZZ’s name comes from the American rock band ZZ Top.
• Enya the Hag is named after the Irish singer Enya.
• Steely Dan’s name comes from the American Rock band Steely Dan.
• Arabia Fats is named after American pianist, Fats Domino.
• Mannish Boy is named after the Muddy Waters’ song of the same name.
• Cameo is named after the 70s funk and R&B group of the same name.
• Midler is named after the singe Bette Midler.
• Iggy, the dog is named after Iggy Pop.
• N’Doul is named after a Senegalese musician, Youssou N'Dour.
• The ​​​​​​Oingo Boingo brothers are named after the  American new wave band with the same name.
• Anubis’ first user, Caravan Serai is named after the Caravanserai album by Santana, while his other two users Chaka and Khan after British-American singer Chaka Khan.
• Mariah is named after the American pop singer, Mariah Carey. 
• Alessi’s name comes from the American duo, the Alessi Brothers.
• The D'Arby brothers take their name from the American singer Terence Trent D'Arby.
• Daniel J. D'Arby's victims Garie Moor and Christian Vander are named after Irish singer Gary Moore and French musician Christian Vander, respectively.
• The eagle “Pet Shop” is named after the band, Pet Shop Boys.
• Kenny G is named after the jazz artist Kenny G.
• Vanilla Ice is named after the 90s rapper of the same name, while his stand “Cream” is a reference to Ginger Baker's blues band Cream.
• Senator Wilson Phillips is named after the vocal group of the same name.
• Jotaro's absent father Sadao Kujo is most probably named after the jazz musician Sadao Watanabe.